1 Cognitive and Brain DevelopmentFogel, Chapter 5 Created by Ilse DeKoeyer-Laros, Ph.D.

2 Experiential ExercisesOverview Chapter 5 Brain Development Cognitive Development The Development of Self-Awareness Experiential Exercises

3 Brain Development

4 Brain Development Neuroscience – the study of the brain & nervous system as it relates to psychological & behavioral functions such as moving, thinking, and feeling

5 Brain structures and functionsMajor areas of the brain brain stem limbic system cortex

6 Brain structures and functionsconnects limbic & cortical areas responsible for social & emotional regulation involves thinking, reasoning, and judging Least developed in infancy: the prefrontal cortex Most developed in infancy brain stem – controls autonomic functions limbic system – processes emotions and memories & some body functions hippocampus, amygdala, hypothalamus, and pituitary gland Picture from:

7 Brain structures and functions The Limbic SystemHippocampus – important in the formation of memories for events & sequences (autobiographical memory) during the first 3 years, the hippocampus develops links with the language & cognition areas of the cortex Amygdala – plays a role in the formation of emotional memories, especially those around fear & safety Picture from: homepage.psy.utexas.edu

8 Brain structures and functions The Limbic SystemHypothalamus – links the brain to the endocrine systems of the body via the pituitary gland regulates stress, body temperature, hunger, thirst, and day-night rhythms The pituitary gland produces hormones for stress regulation, maintenance of body state, sexual activity, milk production in nursing mothers, & cell growth Picture from:

9 Brain structures and functions Two HemispheresRight hemisphere – processes the majority of social & emotional activity major development during the first 2 years of life (emotion regulation, attachments) Left hemisphere – more specialized for thinking & language develops more rapidly after the first 2 years

10 Fetal & infant brain development A critical periodThe period from the 5th gestational month through the age of 3-4 years is a critical period for the development of the human brain To understand why, we need to look at the structure of neurons – information storage & transfer cells

11 Fetal & infant brain development A critical periodThe brain develops by four basic processes: New cells are created via mitosis during the prenatal period most development after this occurs by making cell connections & by pruning of unused neurons The brain becomes more efficient glial cells guide growth & migration of neurons (prenatally) myelination increases the speed of conduction along the axon (mostly right before & after birth)

12 Fetal & infant brain development A critical periodSynaptogenesis – cells grow more dendrites & axon terminals & make more synaptic connections & neurotransmitters

13 Fetal & infant brain development A critical periodThe role of experience experience expectant pathways await specific environmental input e.g., pain elicits crying experience dependent pathways are based on unique experiences those that are used most become strengthened; those that are used the least eventually die

14 Fetal & infant brain development Optimal & non-optimalNeural plasticity – the ability of the brain & nervous system to seek novelty, learn, and remember by continuing to alter the patterns of connections between neurons intact brains retain plasticity throughout life impairments in social & linguistic skills, along with brain abnormalities, develop in infants reared in orphanages or infants not exposed to appropriate language

15 Fetal & infant brain development Optimal & non-optimalEach baby in the first two years of life comes to assess the social world as either a safe or a threatening place

16 Fetal & infant brain development Optimal & non-optimalNeuroception – nonconscious evaluation of safety or threat, by the nervous system and not the conscious mind (Porges, 2004)

17 Fetal & infant brain development Optimal & non-optimalNeuroception is regulated by Sympathetic & parasympathetic nervous systems Sympathetic nervous system – prepares the body for action Parasympathetic nervous system – allows the body to relax, slow down, process information, engage socially, learn & grow; the vagus nerve is most responsible for neuroception The HPA-axis

18 Fetal & infant brain development The HPA-AxisWhen stress occurs: Hypothalamus: CRH Pituitary gland: ACTH Adrenal glands: Cortisol

19 Fetal & infant brain development Optimal & non-optimalCortisol prepares the body for action in response to stress increases blood sugar needed for action feeds back into the limbic system where it heightens the formation of memories related to the stressful event If stress is persistent, cortisol is overproduced prolonged activation of cortisol suppresses the immune system & physical growth too much stress leads to a tendency to feel fear and threat in the future & can lead to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

20 Fetal & infant brain development Optimal & non-optimal

21 Fetal & infant brain development Optimal & non-optimalIn sum, the first 3 years of life are critical for brain development for the development of the limbic & prefrontal parts of the right brain, which is dependent on the quality of love, emotional sharing, & social engagement received & perceived not for cortical & left-brain processes like reading, math, thinking, or musical ability

22 Cognitive Development

23 Fetal & infant brain development Optimal & non-optimalIt is more important for infant brain development to spend quality one-on-one and family time than letting the baby play for long periods with expensive toys, or listen to Mozart, or watch baby TV programs

24 The First Two Months Cognitive DevelopmentNewborns possess a number of ways to process information that are referred to as cognition – including learning & memory, orienting & habituation, and imitation

25 The First Two Months Cognitive DevelopmentClassical conditioning possible when the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) evokes a rewarding natural response, such as a sweet taste Operant conditioning once infants learn the connection between their behavior & a reinforcement, they can signal their preferences, using sucking rate or head turn newborns can remember (e.g., a word repeated by mom) for appr. 24 hours & they prefer familiarity

26 The First Two Months Cognitive DevelopmentHabituation is the decline in strength of responding after repeating the same stimulus; dishabituation is renewed interest Newborns’ motor and heart rate responses have been found to habituate to auditory stimuli, visual stimuli, and tactile stimuli Habituation can also be shown in premature newborns and even in infants born without a brain cortex (anencephalic)

27 The First Two Months Newborn ImitationMeltzoff & Moore (1977) showed that 12- to 21-day-old infants could match tongue protrusion, lip protrusion, mouth opening, hand opening, and hand closing

28 The First Two Months Newborn ImitationThese findings have been replicated One study showed that newborns also matched moving objects One study found imitation of surprise, happy, and sad facial expressions Other studies failed to replicate these findings babies show a wide variety of gestures following the model there are wide individual differences

29 The First Two Months Newborn ImitationNewborn imitation may be a way of relating to people Infants who imitated more at birth gazed away from their mothers less at 3 months Newborns’ imitation of tongue protrusion showed a different pattern of heart rate change compared to when they initiated the same movement (as if to get a response) 6-week-old infants spontaneously reproduced the imitative response they had learned 24 hours earlier when seeing the adult model

30 The First Two Months Cognitive DevelopmentIn sum, newborn cognition is limited to some simple forms of learning, memory, habituation, imitation, and self-awareness early learning and memory are fundamental to survival recognition of maternal sounds and smells learning to orient to sweet fluids & milk learning to avoid noxious smells & tastes newborns prefer familiar sights, sounds, tastes, & feelings, and do not like to be stressed or challenged

31 Two to Five Months Between 2-5 months, important developments take place in perceiving, habituating, learning, and remembering

32 Two to Five Months HabituationBetween 2-5 months, infants improve in speed of information processing related to brain development & ability to focus on familiar tasks by 3 months, infants usually habituate within 1½ to 2 minutes; by 6 months, this drops to 30 seconds Speed of habituation is an early index of cognitive differences it is a fairly good predictor over a period of 4 or 5 months (but not over longer terms)

33 Two to Five Months HabituationInfants who habituate fast at 3 months are more likely to habituate fast at 6 months faster habituators tend to have parents who stimulate their ability to focus visual attention & are more efficient in their information processing slow habituators are more likely to have perinatal risk factors, illness, malnutrition, and poor state control

34 Two to Five Months MemoryFrom birth, infants have short-term memories lasting several hours or days Long-term memory: by 3 months, infants can remember situations for up to 2 weeks this has been tested in the mobile experiment, by Dr. Rovee-Collier and her colleagues Picture from:

35 Two to Five Months MemoryMobile experiment Babies were placed in cribs with brightly colored mobiles overhead & trained for minutes of training Experimenters decided that they would move the mobile if the baby kicked with either the right or the left foot The mobile was moved more the harder the infant kicked Infants who were tested less than 2 weeks after training managed to repeat the same leg movements After a delay of more than 2 weeks, infants behaved as if they had never seen the mobile

36 Two to Five Months MemoryStudies suggest that infants can remember for an indefinite period, so long as they continue to receive non verbal reminders of the early situation In one study, infants were given a reminder 24 hours before 2 weeks had elapsed since their original training this was effective in helping the infants remember the earlier procedure as much as 4 weeks after training However, when retested in different situations, infants are less likely to remember the event incl. different cribs; same cribs with different colored bumpers; different mobiles; different odors or music in the room

37 Two to Five Months MemoryLack of stability in the environment may have negative consequences for cognitive development In a mobile-kicking study, the experimenters changed the mobile during the training phase Infants who did not cry when the mobile was changed could easily reactivate the kicking, but infants who cried could not

38 Two to Five Months MemoryThese findings suggest that infants remember whole situations, including the emotions, and the specific sights, sounds, and smells of the surrounding environment suggest that infants have a sense of self-history – the experience that the past can be connected to the present by means of recreating one’s own actions in similar situations call for a reevaluation of the common observation that people do not remember their experiences as infants, a phenomenon known as infantile amnesia

39 Two to Five Months MemoryCan we remember experiences from infancy? One would have to be in almost exactly the same situation and the same emotional state as during the original experience Since this is unlikely, adults and older children are unlikely to be able to retrieve early memories for specific events People may have memories of early infancy, but because it is difficult to replicate the exact context, they may be unable to locate the memories in a specific time and place

40 Two to Five Months MemoryCan we remember experiences from infancy? “Reaching in the dark” (Clifton et al.) 2½-year-olds who had reached for objects in the dark when they were 6 months old were better at this task than children who did not have this experience, even though it is unlikely that these children remembered the actual experience of doing this when they were 6 months old “Still Face” (Bornstein et al.) 2½-year-olds who had experienced a “still-face” experiment at 5 months looked less at a photo of the person who had done the still-face compared to two other photos, while other 2½-year-olds showed no preference between these faces

41 Two to Five Months MemoryThese studies support the idea of participatory memories (see Ch. 2) of early infancy, reported by people during somatic awareness and psycho-therapeutic encounters It may be possible to experience a feeling, an odor, a body posture, or a pattern of movement without remembering a specific time or place when it first occurred Picture from:

42 Two to Five Months Piagetian PerspectivesPiaget viewed infant actions as adaptations to the environment that involve the whole infant Sensorimotor Stage I (newborn period) the majority of the infant’s actions are in the form of reflexes to adapt to the environment Sensorimotor Stage II (about 1 to 5 months) infants begin to act more purposefully – they are able to recognize the connections between their own behavior & events in the environment Picture from:

43 Two to Five Months Piagetian PerspectivesSensorimotor Stage II (about 1 to 5 months) – primary circular reactions repetitive movements in which the infant focuses on his or her own actions by 2 to 3 months, the baby can recognize simple connections between behavior & its effect, and will repeat the same behavior many times, often with great delight infants at this stage do not appear to be interested in the object for its own sake Picture from: babyparenting.about.com/od/photogallery/ig/Baby-and-Toddler-Photo-Gallery/Zoe-Cosette--3-months.htm

44 Two to Five Months Piagetian PerspectivesAccording to Piaget, the meaning of a particular object or person to the infant is the action and experience the child brings to it. For example, a rattle means “graspable, seeable, suckable”

45 Two to Five Months Piagetian PerspectivesSensorimotor Stage II (about 1 to 5 months) infants’ actions are not intended to explore the object, but to experience the effects of their own behavior this suggests that infants are developing a sense of self-agency, the feeling that they are a causal agent that can successfully affect one’s own body & environment later in this stage, infants begin to combine different primary circular reaction schemes into more unified behavior patterns for example, visually guided reaching at about 4 months

46 Two to Five Months Piagetian PerspectivesSensorimotor Stage II (about 1 to 5 months) Babies in Stage II have the ability for cross-modal perception; their memories are integrated wholes of sights, sounds, smells, and movements This suggests that infants have a sense of self-coherence

47 Two to Five Months Piagetian PerspectivesSensorimotor Stage II (about 1 to 5 months) One aspect of self-agency and self-coherence at this age is the experience of contingency (see Ch. 5) In one study (Watson, 1973), the movements of a mobile were linked to an infants’ head presses on an automatic pillow if infants discovered that the mobile would move with their head presses, they usually smiled and cooed if the pillow inconsistently rewarded head presses, infants became frustrated and distressed

48 Two to Five Months Piagetian PerspectivesIn sum, In early infancy, exploration, cognition, and motor behavior are all part of the same underlying developmental process Primary circular reactions create powerful motivations for babies to become engaged in the environment especially when adults create highly ritualized and repetitive situations as in feeding, playing, bathing, and diapering Babies of this age do not enjoy deviations from the routines, which makes it difficult for them to adapt quickly to new caregivers

49 Six to Nine Months Between 6 and 9 months, babies grow more adventurous they start to creep or crawl they begin to take initiative and call attention to themselves they develop a serious interest in the object world & come to understand that objects are whole entities with an existence separate from their own Picture from:

50 Six to Nine Months MemoryBy 7 months, infants can remember how to make a mobile move for as long as 21 days, without a reminder memories are less context dependent infants can remember a salient event that has been learned in different (but related) situations infants can remember longer sequences of events, like longer melodies However, memory is still tied to the situation

51 Six to Nine Months Information ProcessingAt 7 months, infants are able to group stimuli into higher-order conceptual categories 7-month-olds (but not 5-month-olds) recognized the same faces shown in different positions they distinguished smiling from non-smiling faces they recognize a prototype from distorted versions they distinguish horses from other four-legged mammals

52 Six to Nine Months Information ProcessingInfants of this age also understand that moving objects should follow along their prior path of movement & larger objects can support smaller objects respond differentially when the same object is placed above or below another object, showing that they have a category for these spatial relationships seem to have a concept of number they dishabituated when a puppet’s jumps changed, from 2 to 3 or from 3 to 2

53 Six to Nine Months Secondary Circular ReactionsSensorimotor Stage III (4 to 8 or 9 months) –Secondary circular reactions infants begin to repeat actions that, by chance, produce some effect on the objects and people in the environment once the chance discovery is made, infants make deliberate, intentional attempts to repeat that action 53

54 Six to Nine Months Secondary Circular ReactionsInfants also vary the actions in order to explore changes in the effect they will drop objects off the edge of their high chairs they shake objects in different ways to notice the effect or repeatedly dump things out of containers Repeated occurrences in the environment take on meaning for the baby (see Observation 5.4) by 7 months, Laurent knew that he would be fed shortly after he heard his mother’s bed creak 54

55 Six to Nine Months Secondary Circular ReactionsInfants are becoming more goal directed & can perceive others’ intentional behavior in one study, 9-month-old infants looked longer when a grasping hand contacted a toy than when the toy was touched with the back of a hand Picture from: 55

56 Six to Nine Months Object PermanenceObject permanence – the ability to remain aware of an object even after it has gone out of sight infants will not actively search for an object that has been hidden until after 9 months Picture from: 56

57 Six to Nine Months Object PermanenceIn one study, 7- to 8-month-olds saw an object disappear behind one of two screens a hand reached behind the screens and reappeared holding the object in either a possible situation or an impossible situation Infants looked longer at the hand following the impossible situation compared to the possible one In a similar study, infants not only looked longer at the impossible situation, they also looked more at their parents as if to share their puzzlement 57

58 Six to Nine Months Object PermanenceInfants of this age are becoming aware of objects and people as whole entities people, as opposed to objects, are understood by infants as having intentions the ability to perceive another’s intentions corresponds with infants’ awareness of their own intentions, their ability to have an effect on the environment 58

59 Ten to Twelve Months Conceptual DevelopmentBy 10 months, infants begin to discover relationships – between objects, people, and people and objects Relational play – demonstrates knowledge of the relationships between two objects the more distinct the two objects, the more likely it is that babies will combine them correctly (e.g., putting lids on pots, cups on saucers, or spoons in cups) See example at: Picture from:

60 Ten to Twelve Months Conceptual Development10-month-olds can perceive the relationship between a tool and its use a giver and a receiver a cause and an effect a male voice and face; a female voice and face They can classify pictures of animals (dogs vs cats) male vs female faces plants vs kitchen utensils

61 Ten to Twelve Months Intentional ActionSensorimotor Stage IV (10 to 12 months) – Coordination of secondary circular reactions deliberate combination of different actions into a unified pattern of behavior, suggesting infants’ intention to act in this way to do this, the infant must relate two simpler secondary circular reactions e.g., holding a toy in one hand & pushing an adult away with the other

62 Ten to Twelve Months Intentional ActionInfants are also relating two actions when they search for hidden objects to find a hidden object, infants have to move the barrier with one hand & grasp the object with the other hand Piaget: by 10 months, infants will search for the hidden object & seem delighted to find it under the cover See an example at:

63 Ten to Twelve Months Intentional ActionA-not-B error a toy is hidden under one of two pieces of cloth (babies 10 months and older will find it) the toy is then hidden under the other cloth infants younger than about 15 months will look under the first piece of cloth and not under the second, even while the toy was hidden in plain view See an example at:

64 Ten to Twelve Months Intentional ActionPiaget: infants act as if part of their definition of the object includes its location e.g., “keys-under-the-cloth,” or “ball-under-the-chair” Later research: infants of this age do have a concept of objects as existing when out of sight they will directly search for the object in multiple locations so long as they can see the object (e.g., hidden under transparent covers)

65 Ten to Twelve Months Intentional ActionInfants do pass the A-not-B test under certain conditions: if there is no delay between hiding and searching for the object if infants are shown the object hidden in the A location multiple times, they are more likely to search B if infants are allowed to lean their bodies in the direction of the hidden object, they can sometimes find it even after a delay by following the direction of their lean it is easier if the covers are perceptually very different it helps if the objects are familiar or interesting

66 Ten to Twelve Months Intentional ActionThe importance of the A-not-B error lies in questions it raises for understanding human development there are many examples in which the emergence of a new skill (like searching for hidden objects) is accompanied by a curious but not serious deficit (like being unable to search in more than one hiding place)

67 Ten to Twelve Months ImitationImitation requires making a conceptual relationship between two actions 6-month-olds imitate actions that they have not done before but only after many demonstrations and with plenty of time to process the information between months, infants become better at imitating actions that they see for the first time or have not done before

68 Ten to Twelve Months ImitationDeferred imitation – imitation following a delay from the time the action is observed shows that infants can remember the relationships they learn, at least for a short time if infants are allowed to imitate the action immediately, they can remember and imitate after longer delays

69 Ten to Twelve Months Individual DifferencesInfants who can sustain attention longer engage in higher levels of exploratory play score higher on tests of mental and motor abilities Related to biological differences & caregiving if adults refocus the infant after a loss of attention, duration of attention increases for infants with short attention spans, but not for those with long attention spans Picture from:

70 Ten to Twelve Months Individual DifferencesMastery motivation – inherent motivation to be competent in a particular situation adult object-related behavior increased the level of mastery motivation only for 12-month-olds who were low in activity level for highly active infants, parental intervention had no effect or an interfering effect on the infants’ mastery

71 Twelve to Twenty-Four Months Tertiary Circular ReactionsPiaget’s Stage V ( months) is called tertiary circular reactions the beginnings of active experimentation & the search for novelty Infants become able to adapt to new situations by using tried and true methods by trial-and-error, attempting new combinations of action schemes until they find the one that will solve the problem

72 Twelve to Twenty-Four Months Tertiary Circular ReactionsInfants of this age seem to have multiple goals they examine the techniques available to determine which are best suited to the particular goal at hand For example, a distant object can be retrieved by pulling the blanket on which the object sits trying to figure out which objects best fit into particular containers following the path of an object and find its hiding place, even after a long series of moves or after a 24-hour delay Picture from:

73 Twelve to Twenty-Four Months Imitation12- to 18-month-olds are able to model acts that are completely different from those seen before they will try to imitate complicated actions just for fun – without understanding the reason for those actions these are the origins of role play and dramatic play infants can also infer intentions from modeled actions & display the same intentions in their imitations Picture from:

74 Twelve to Twenty-Four Months ImitationIn one study, 14-to-18-month-olds watched adults operate simple tools sometimes the adult said “There!” (intentional action) after pressing the level and other times “Whoops!” (accidental action) infants were twice as likely to imitate if the action was intentional: they are not simply reproducing a mechanical action but acting for a purpose Baby “talking” on the phone: Picture from: pediatrics.about.com/.../Pretend-Play.htm

75 Twelve to Twenty-Four Months MemoryInfants can recall events for long periods of time when they are tested using familiar objects & events when they are allowed multiple exposures when they can enact the sequence in action rather than in words when there are reminders This period is a transitional period for memory in the next period, infants develop verbal-conceptual memories

76 Twelve to Twenty-Four Months CategorizationInfants develop more advanced categorization skills during this period by 15 months, infants can correctly form higher-order categories for familiar objects e.g., they can classify animals together, but they will not include cars with the animals Picture from:

77 Twelve to Twenty-Four Months Sensorimotor Stage V!Sensorimotor Stage VI (18 to 24 months) – the invention of new means through mental combinations children can think about the possible paths to a goal, eliminate the most improbable ones, and only then act they now have clear object permanence

78 Twelve to Twenty-Four Months Symbolic PlaySymbol – a representation of a thing or event that is conventionally shared among the members of a community in Stage VI, the symbol becomes detached from its original context it becomes something that can be manipulated and explored Picture from:

79 Twelve to Twenty-Four Months Symbolic PlayBetween 18 and 24 months, toddlers develop the ability to execute complex play sequences that require multiple symbols & advance planning Pictures from:

80 Twelve to Twenty-Four Months CategorizationBy 18 months, infants learn to categorize by sequential order, or by cause and effect they remember better if items & events are organized into a sequence e.g., a teddy bear is undressed, put into the tub, washed, and then dried they can remember sequences up to 2 weeks later (whether familiar or unfamiliar)

81 Twelve to Twenty-Four Months CategorizationScript – an organization of concepts and memories in terms of how the events are related to each other in time become increasingly important to represent reality & remember action sequences 2-year-olds cannot memorize long lists of new words or concepts, but they can execute complex sequences of related actions

82 Twelve to Twenty-Four Months Square Pegs in Round HolesBetween 18 and 24 months, children love pegboards in which they can fit objects of different shapes in the corresponding holes containers (and putting things in them) nesting-cup toys, in which smaller cups are placed inside successively larger cups Pictures from: simplebounty.wordpress.com/2008/01/

83 Twelve to Twenty-Four Months Smart Toys, TV, and the InternetBetween 18 and 24 months, infants become more interested in TV and ‘smart toys’ about 40% of 3-month-olds in the US regularly watch TV, DVDs, or videos babies under age 1 watch on average 1 hr/day; at age 2, this is 1.5 hours per day about 75% of parents report that their infants under age 2 watches TV; 1 in 5 watches at least 2 hrs/day reasons for using these media: entertainment, babysitting, and education

84 Twelve to Twenty-Four Months Smart Toys, TV, and the InternetOne study showed that smart toys are neither beneficial nor harmful if infants engage with the world at their own level, it makes little difference what kind of toy is available so long as it is interesting parents can encourage development with inexpensive low-tech toys as easily as with expensive ones

85 Twelve to Twenty-Four Months Smart Toys, TV, and the InternetTV, DVD, and video viewing has been shown to have harmful effects on cognition and brain development for children under the age of 3 Picture from: parentzing.wordpress.com

86 Twelve to Twenty-Four Months Smart Toys, TV, and the InternetRegardless of other risk factors, more hours of TV, DVD or video at ages 1 and 3 were related to more aggression at age 4 attention & hyperactivity at age 7 For every hour of TV watched per day, 2-year-olds knew 6-8 fewer words

87 Twelve to Twenty-Four Months Smart Toys, TV, and the InternetParents should carefully monitor children’s TV viewing & limit the amount of time children are allowed to watch (max minutes per day) infants learn best by acting and not by simply observing pots and pans will make a baby just as smart as an expensive toy Picture from: hubpages.com/hub/The-Importance-of-Play

88 Twelve to Twenty-Four Months Smart Toys, TV, and the InternetIn the US, children spend an average of only 30 minutes of unstructured outdoor time per week outdoor play and other nature experiences have been shown to lower depression, improve attention and concentration, and increase self-discipline Picture from: gennasuspapillons.blogspot.com

89 Twenty-Four to Thirty-Six Months Thinking Grounded in ActionTwo-year-olds learn to flexibly combine actions & persist until they reach a goal in one study, 2-year-olds were able to perform all the actions in a particular sequence e.g., build a house, clean a blackboard, dress a doll only 2-year-olds were able to correct their errors & persist until the task was completed

90 Twenty-Four to Thirty-Six Months Thinking Grounded in ActionAttention span also increases TV watching increases markedly at 30 months, about the same time these other changes are happening the more children comprehend of TV programs, the longer they will watch Picture from  www.momisteaching.com/.../uploads/weemote.jpg

91 Twenty-Four to Thirty-Six Months Thinking Grounded in ActionSelf-produced action appears to affect cognition In one study, 3-year-olds were taken into a children’s area in a natural history museum some of the children were allowed to explore the area on their own; others were led through it by an adult those who went on their own had a more accurate spatial cognition of the layout of the area than those who were led

92 Twenty-Four to Thirty-Six Months Language Aids both Thought & ActionPiaget: both action & language develop because of increases in cognitive abilities such as logical thinking a 3-year-old cannot answer the following question because of an inability to understand the logical chain of comparisons Bill is older than Tom. Tom is older than Steve Who is older, Bill or Steve?

93 Twenty-Four to Thirty-Six Months Language Aids both Thought & ActionAlternative explanation: this error may be due to a linguistic problem e.g., difficulty understanding differences between similar words with different endings, such as old and older Research suggests that children comprehend something like this: “Bill is old; Tom is not old. Tom is old; Steve is not old.” this seems like contradictory information

94 Twenty-Four to Thirty-Six Months Language Aids both Thought & ActionAround 30 months, children have developed thought – an internalization of their social-linguistic regulatory system begin to talk to themselves private speech – the use of language to regulate one’s own behavior without the intention of a social communication Picture from: raisingchildren.net.au/.../todd_girlplaying.jpg

95 Twenty-Four to Thirty-Six Months Language Aids both Thought & ActionPrivate speech occurs when the child: talks about an intended action (“I put that there”) describes ongoing action (“Banging it”) makes a statement to an inanimate object (“Get out of my way, chair!”) asks a question and then answers it (“Why are you crying, dolly? Because I’m sad”)

96 Twenty-Four to Thirty-Six Months Pretending & the World of Make-BelievePiaget: complex action sequences result from developments in the cognitive realm Vygotsky: they result from language & social experience complex action sequences have their origins in earlier social interactions

97 Twenty-Four to Thirty-Six Months Pretending & the World of Make-BelieveImaginative pretend play begins at age 2 inventing whole new situations in make-believe allows the self to emerge victorious in case of failure or save face in case of embarrassment Pretend role play also begins acting out roles of mother, father, or other important figures in their lives Picture from:

98 Twenty-Four to Thirty-Six Months Pretending & the World of Make-BelieveIn one study, adults pretended to “pour” or “spill” some pretend tea after 28 months, children can participate in these pretend episodes they will “drink” from the cup and help “clean up” the “spilled” tea their language shows they understand the situation is make-believe and not real

99 Twenty-Four to Thirty-Six Months Pretending & the World of Make-BelievePretending is also manifested as dreaming, which children can talk about for the first time often about experiences the child has had, physical changes such as toileting, and strong emotions dreams other than nightmares may fulfill a wish, or may take a painful event and finish it off with a happy ending Pictures from:

100 Twenty-Four to Thirty-Six Months Pretending & the World of Make-BelieveChildren no longer have to be content with what actually happens – they can make up a better outcome as they play However, 3-year-olds are never sure about the limits of this newfound ability for example, children fear their own imaginary monsters Picture from: notjustcute.files.wordpress.com/.../dscn0678.jpg

101 The Development of Infant Self-Awareness

102 Infant Self-AwarenessIt was once thought that infants were not self-aware until they could recognize themselves in a mirror – around 18 months We know now that even the fetus is aware of itself late-term fetuses will open their mouth in anticipating of meeting their own hand this shows that the fetus is somehow self-aware of its own movement and senses

103 The First Two Months The Emergent SelfEvidence for early self-awareness comes from studies that show Newborn imitation (distinguishing own movements from the movements of others) Differential rooting (more when touched by someone else than by touching self) Differential crying (more when they hear tape recordings of other infants’ cries) Picture from: novohamburgo.org/noticias/img/1307-bebe-fofo.jpg

104 Newborn Self-Awareness: The Emergent SelfThe emergent self is the sense of self-sameness over time in behavior, feelings, and states of arousal

105 Two to Five Months The Sense of an Ecological SelfThe ecological self is characterized by Self-agency – the sense that one is capable of generating one’s own actions and expecting that these self-generated actions will have consequences Self-coherence – the sense of being a whole physical entity with boundaries and limitations Self-affectivity – the sense of having inner emotional feelings that routinely go together with specific experiences Self-history – the sense of enduring, of having a past, of going on even through changes, as when one acts and feels similar ways with familiar people or in familiar situations

106 Two to Five Months The Sense of an Ecological SelfBy 3 ½ months, infants begin to watch their hands moving & feel their arms & hands at the same time it is likely that this cross-modal experience gives the infant a sense of self-recognition through self-coherence Young infants explore their own bodies, feeling the touching hand & the part that is being touched In the first few hours of life, newborns touch their own head in an ordered sequence beginning with the mouth, then moving to the face, head, ear, nose, and eyes

107 Two to Five Months The Sense of an Ecological SelfThe ecological self is also experienced in relation to the social environment interacting with another person, it is possible to feel the part of the interaction that comes from the self in comparison to that part contributed by the other

108 Six to Nine Months The Sense of a Differentiated Ecological SelfBetween 6 and 9 months, babies call attention to themselves in ways that did not exist previously These features make up a sense of a differentiated ecological self asking for help taking initiative clowning and showing off demanding hiding and escaping Picture from private collection 108

109 Six to Nine Months The Sense of a Differentiated Ecological SelfAt this age emotions become more complex infants begin to take initiative gender & temperament differences arise: infants begin to seem to have their own personalities But: they do not have a sense of subjectivity they have feelings—getting angry or happy—but cannot yet stand apart from those feelings they do not have a sense of an “I” that feels, and, consequently, they do not have a sense that other people are separate subjects with their own feelings 109

110 Ten to Twelve Months The Sense of a Subjective SelfBehaviors like clowning & showing off reveal that there is a sense of “I” that wants to be recognized This is the subjective self participatory, rather conceptual: babies of this age do not yet have language to describe themselves, or a concept of “self”

111 Ten to Twelve Months The Sense of a Subjective SelfThe emergence of the subjective self is the beginning of a uniquely human consciousness, aware of itself thinking, feeling, and doing The sense of a subjective self is crucial to mental health we need to know who we are in relation to other people, what we need and how to ask appropriately for it, and how to communicate about those things with other people

112 Twelve to Eighteen Months The Sense of an Elaborated Subjective SelfBetween months, this sense of self is elaborated infants exaggerate facial expressions & other social actions as if to explore their own subjectivity in relation to another person they communicate more intentionally: they will persist when their gestures or words are not understood they discover that they have some emotion regulation skills of their own (e.g., lip biting to control their distress) they will look toward someone for confirmation of an achievement, but they will also smile, jump, or wave their arms to recognize the achievement for themselves

113 Eighteen to Twenty-Four Months The Sense of an Existential SelfThe existential self: 18-month-olds begin to create a whole picture of themselves as someone who can be recognized & distinguished they recognize themselves in a mirror they categorize & remember familiar sequences of events (scripts) Picture from:

114 Eighteen to Twenty-Four Months The Sense of an Existential SelfMirror self-recognition test (Lewis & Brooks-Gunn, 1979) an experimenter dabs a bit of red rouge on the infant’s nose without the baby realizing it then, the baby is put in front of a mirror if infants recognize that the mirror image is of themselves, they will touch their own noses by 24 months, the majority of children will touch their own noses after seeing the red spot

115 Eighteen to Twenty-Four Months The Sense of an Existential SelfUse of personal pronouns begins around the same time as mirror self-recognition expressing intended actions (“I do it,” “I hold it”) making requests or proposals (“I wanna play with that one”) stating propositions (“I have the crayon”)

116 Eighteen to Twenty-Four Months The Sense of an Existential SelfAfter 18 months, infants are also beginning to reason about other people’s desires In one study, 14- and 18-month-olds watched while adults ate either crackers or broccoli 14-month-olds offered the adult only crackers, assuming that the adult would like what the child liked, regardless of the adult’s expressed preferences 18-month-olds, offered whichever food the adult seemed to prefer

117 Eighteen to Twenty-Four Months The Sense of an Existential SelfInfants who are more self- and other-aware are more securely attached to their mothers & fathers show more concern for other’s distress can coordinate mirror image imitation are more competent with peers

118 Eighteen to Twenty-Four Months The Sense of an Existential SelfOther research shows that Self-recognition in the mirror at 18 months was more likely in children who reacted with greater distress to inoculations & who had higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol during the first year Insecure children at this age are more likely to talk about their own negative, as compared to positive, feelings

119 Twenty-Four to Thirty-Six Months The Emergence of the Categorical SelfAround the 3rd birthday, children develop the categorical self – the ability to identify their own membership in conceptual categories For example, “I am a boy” “I am a sister” “I am not a baby”

120 Twenty-Four to Thirty-Six Months The Emergence of the Categorical SelfAutobiographical memory – the ability to remember experiences verbally serves to create a sense of one’s life history More detailed when mothers elaborate more on children’s stories children have more advanced verbal skills children use more mental state words like “thinking,” “knowing,” and “remembering”

121 Twenty-Four to Thirty-Six Months Autobiographical memoryThe ability to talk about a past situation depends on verbal skills at the time of the event children who had a traumatic injury around age 2 could recall the situation verbally up to 2 years later children who were injured before 18 months showed participatory memories but no verbal recall one boy had to be tightly wrapped in a blanket at 16 months, to keep him from moving during the stitching at 34 months, he still refused to be wrapped in a smock when getting his hair cut

122 Twenty-Four to Thirty-Six Months Autobiographical memoryInfantile amnesia is primarily a verbal amnesia if an incident occurs before age 2, participatory memories remain but are largely unconscious (expressed nonverbally but not verbally) individuals may have participatory memories of early infancy that persist for long periods in the form of nonverbal patterns of action

123 Twenty-Four to Thirty-Six Months Autobiographical memoryTraumatic memories may be particularly likely to persist in the form of nonverbal, unconscious participatory memories these will persist longer if the conditions that created the memories persist and continue to be reenacted the amygdala alters its cellular structure with trauma leaving the person vulnerable to perceive fear even in relatively benign situations the hippocampus – necessary for verbal recall – is by-passed in traumatic situations and in infancy

124 Twenty-Four to Thirty-Six Months Autobiographical memoryTherapeutic interventions that lead to increases in health allow traumas to be relived safely and then transformed into verbal memories for instance, play therapy with children there is controversy over whether such memories can be falsely implanted Picture from:

125 Twenty-Four to Thirty-Six Months Gender IdentityGender identity – the affiliation with being either male or female early in the 3rd year, children begin to notice sex differences in behavior and appearance & to show early signs of sexual behavior Gender labeling – when the child can identify self or other as male or female begins at about 18 months

126 Twenty-Four to Thirty-Six Months Gender IdentityUp until age 3, children do not understand that these labels reflect enduring characteristics 2-year-olds do not understand that a boy will always grow up to be a man they believe that gender might be changed by changing one’s appearance or dress they may actively discourage each other from playing with opposite sex peers or opposite gender–typed toys

127 Twenty-Four to Thirty-Six Months Gender IdentityGender labeling is related to verbal ability, sex of the child, and parents’ emotional reactions to gender-typed toys this is more advanced with higher verbal intelligence boys begin gender labeling & stereotyping earlier than girls earlier gender labeling if parents have strong reactions Picture from:

128 Twenty-Four to Thirty-Six Months Gender IdentityParental influence over the child’s choice of toys few parents explicitly instruct their children in the gender-appropriate choice or use of toys stereotypes are communicated by emotional reactions to the children’s choice of toys parents react less to toy choices that are not gender related & to opposite-gender choices Picture from:

129 Twenty-Four to Thirty-Six Months Gender IdentityOther parental contributions to gender identity discouraging aggression & encouraging prosocial behavior in girls encouraging responsibility in boys dressing children in gender-appropriate ways talking in general about gender and gender roles

130 Experiential Exercises The ecological selfAs humans, we can see part of our bodies in our field of vision at all times Try this by closing one eye and looking straight ahead – you will see your own nose Thus, whenever you perceive your environment, you perceive yourself. Perceiving the environment is co-perceiving yourself. The ecological self is the sense of self as situated in the environment. This sense of self is still present in adults, but much more in the background of experience. You can explore your ecological sense of self during everyday activities.

131 Experiential Exercises Mirror self-recognitionThe purpose of this exercise is to evoke the experience of seeing oneself in a mirror for the very first time, and thus imagine the sense of otherness or foreignness of the mirror image, sense of shame or pride, etc. Sit at a desk or table with a mirror, a blank piece of paper and a pencil. Close your eyes for 2-3 minutes and relax. Open your eyes & examine your face in the mirror. As you study your face, remain aware of your sensations and emotions. Write down your experience, then close your eyes once more and relax for another 2-3 minutes.

132 Experiential Exercises Mirror self-recognitionOpen your eyes & cover one eye with your hand. Study your face for second time using the uncovered eye. Notice your feelings and experience during this portion of the exercise. Do you see yourself differently than before? Write down your experience Close your eyes for another 2 minutes and repeat this portion of the exercise with the opposite eye uncovered. Compare your three experiences. Imagine the different ways in which an infant may see himself when looking into a mirror for the first time. What do you imagine would go through an infant’s mind?